National Park Service Klamath Network Featured Creature U.S. Department of the Interior

Natural Resource Stewardship & Science Klamath Network Morel Mushrooms August 2018 Morchella species Field Notes Distribution and Habitat Reproduction Morels grow in all countries of the Morels can reproduce sexually and Northern Hemisphere that have temperate asexually. Under certain conditions they or boreal forests, or forests that experience can send up a fruiting body without a distinct cold season, especially with interacting with another fungus. This winter snow. They also occur in some asexual reproduction has the advantage Mediterranean or subtropical regions such that it can happen quickly, to make the best as coastal California, the highlands of of a small window of good conditions. The Mexico and Guatemala, and the Middle fruiting body will release millions of its East. microscopic spores, a tiny proportion of which will germinate. In the western U.S., morels are typically found in coniferous forests, including Alternatively, hyphae from two different species of Pinus (pine), Abies (fir), Larix morels of the same species intertwine and (larch), and Pseudotsuga (Douglas-fir), as then send up a fruiting body or mushroom, well as in Populus (cottonwood) riparian again releasing spores, but containing genes forests. In the first year following a fire, from both parents. some morel species, often calle Conservation Morel mushroom (Morchella sp.) in Yosemite morels, reproduce prolifically. National Park, 2016 fruiting after the 2015 Several management actions could help Rim Fire. Photo by Andrew Larson. Ecology conserve morel mushrooms. Maintain Morels have complex life cycles and historical fire regimes in forests where General Description relationships. Evidence from experiments morels . Conduct research and Morel mushrooms are the fruiting bodies or observation of fruiting patterns suggests monitoring to better understand the habitat produced by fungi of the genus Morchella. that some species live and feed on dead needs and life cycles of different types of These fungi have a hollow stem and a organic matter, or are saprotrophic. Other morel species. Regulate harvesting so that conical cap with pits and ridges, resembling species associate with a particular tree habitat is protected and populations are a honeycomb or pine cone. species, or sometimes grasses. These species sustainable. And finally, seek strategies to The conifer-dominated montane forests form symbiotic relationships that benefit reduce and mitigate impacts of climate across western North America likely share both the plant and the fungus. change in protected areas. similar Morchella species of morels. These The most important relationship Where to See species fall mainly within the black morel ecologically is mycorrhizal, meaning group. Some species can be identified by Morels are likely to be found in all of the -root. The fungal hyphae (tiny visible characteristics, while others require Klamath Network parks, and the best threads that are the smallest units of a molecular analysis. opportunities to see morels in abundance fungus) grow among and sometimes into would be in burned areas, the spring Morels are among the most highly sought the outer cells of plant root tips, creating a following a fire. after and prized mushrooms for culinary zone where nutrients are exchanged use. Significant recreational, subsistence, between the fungus and the plant. The More Information and commercial harvests occur throughout fungus absorbs water and mineral nutrients Web page: Morel Biology and Evolution their range, although many national parks with its mycelial network and shares them Pilz et al. 2007. Ecology and management of prohibit harvest, or strictly limit it. If you do with the host plant, and in return the morels harvested from the forests of venture out to seek morels, be sure to fungus absorbs carbohydrates from the western North America. understand the harvest regulations Morels may vary between wherever you go and know how to saprotrophic and mycorrhizal at different distinguish false from true morels! stages of their life cycle.

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM Prepar ed by Linda Mutc h August 13, 2018